By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
The Bahamas’ national debt hit $5.119 billion at end-March 2013, with a former finance minister yesterday describing the 36.6 per cent foreign currency share of this figure as “the worrying side” of the fiscal crisis.
James Smith, also a former Central Bank governor, noted that the Bahamas’ $1.873 billion foreign currency debt had increased sharply since the recession, and servicing this threatened to eat up increasing amounts of foreign currency reserves.
The Central Bank’s review of the 2013 first quarter showed that the national debt had increased year-over-year by 16 per cent, or $704.6 million.
Describing both the absolute level of the national debt, and its rate of increase, as the key fiscal issues facing the Bahamas, Mr Smith said the increased foreign currency debt servicing costs could also “strangle” imports of equipment needed by Bahamian businesses.
The Central Bank report noted that foreign currency debt service payments had increased by 57.7 per cent , or $8.6 million, year-over-year to hit $23.5 million.
“The Government recorded an almost four-fold hike in repayments to $8.9 million, and the public corporations’ component firmed by $1.9 million (15.3 per cent) to $14.6 million,” the Central Bank report said.
“Consequently, both the debt service ratio and debt service, as a proportion of total Government revenue, increased by 0.9 and two percentage points, respectively, to 2.6 per cent each.”:
The average maturity of the Government’s foreign currency debt remains 15 years, with 34.4 per cent (just over $600 million) held by foreign financial institutions. Another 32 per cent is in the hands of private capital markets, with multilateral institutions (13.1 per cent) and bilateral organisations (2.5 per cent) also holding major chunks.
Of the Bahamas’ foreign currency debt, the Government directly owes $1.048 billion, while public corporations such as BEC, the Water & Sewerage Corporation and Bahamasair collectively owe creditors $825.5 million.
Mr Smith, though, said it was immaterial whether the Bahamas’ foreign currency debt was locally or nationally held.
“That ought to be monitored closely,” he said of the debt’s foreign currency component. “The problem with that is the servicing of foreign currency debt has a direct effect on the reserves.
“Further down the path, the more foreign currency reserves are used to pay for debt, you also reduce the amount available to pay for imports and intermediate inputs, so you could strangle your domestic production.”
Debt servicing demands on the foreign currency reserves meant the Bahamian economy needed to grow and generate inflows to maintain existing levels, Mr Smith said.
He described the foreign currency component as “the worrying side” of the Bahamas’ fiscal position, noting that it had grown from just $350-$380 million pre-recession.
“It’s still a long ways to go to work out of this, and in my view the debt and rate of increase in the debt are the two most pressing problems because everything flows from that,” the CFAL chairman told Tribune Business.
Comments
JohnDoes 10 years, 9 months ago
This is wayy to much debt for such a small country. What the hell is going on ? Who is monitoring the spending of our homelands money (if we have any), and who is monitoring the loan system? Who is going to pay this all back ? The citizens of course, there is much more than meets the eye with this new tax system. All the foreigners lavish while all the citizens suffer. Someone raise the Jolly Roger on the side of that National Flag. "Expulsis Piratis Restituta Commercia!"
concernedcitizen 10 years, 9 months ago
as long as we keep producing babies like topsy and 1in 4 people are on the public payroll our debt will continue to grow ,,the public service and their unions broke detroit ,they can break the Bahamas ,,and no politicians can tell them no b/c of votes ,,if you add up the unfunded pensions to our civil service we are already broke ,,the foriegners are the only thing keeping us a float ,,and when Cuba opens this house of cards w/ its fake middle class of gov jobs that produces nothing collapses, and just like that we are Haiti and Jamaica w/ dollars that aren,t worth squat ..
rony 10 years, 9 months ago
Why you keep saying us? Bahamians this day and time don't have plenty kids it's these Haitians that is having all the kids.
concernedcitizen 10 years, 9 months ago
IF NEARLEY every 16 to 18 unwed girl i see has a kid and by the time they are 22 three for three dead beat dads ,,
John 10 years, 9 months ago
The Bahamas is like a big funnel. Despite the injection of foregin capital, too much money is being exported out of the country. When money does dot remain in the economy for a period of time it does not generate new money, so the multiplier effect does not take place. Bahamians must not only be workers and employees in the major sectors of the economy but owners and employers. Rather than exporting so much money to purchase items we consume, we must become producers and export more products. As long as we allow foreign operators of banks and hotels and insurance companies to export profits wholesale, and foreign workers to come here and unregulated and earn big salaries then take them back to their home country and as long as Bahamians are excluded fro the better paying jobs, this financial hemmorage will continue and Bahamians alone will be left to bear the burden of this increasing debt years down the road. While foreign labor may be necessary and foreign companies play an important role in this economy, Bahamians must step up to the plate and share in opportunities that will not only allow them to empower themselves, but also strengthen the economy and reduce the need to borrow at such a great demand.
concernedcitizen 10 years, 9 months ago
YAKKETY YAK Dude when 2/3 of your budget goes to pay your civil service ,and thats not even counting the unfunded public pensions you have to borrow and tax like vultures ,,look around at our neighbors all of them out breed their GDP and the results are crime and poverty ,,Atlantis puts alot more in ,in operateing cost and salaries then they take out i n profit ,,all of that foriegn talk, and we could farm coral rocks is emotive and placating and keeps us from looking at ourselves and reality .,,Bahamians own alot of businesses ask the Williams ,Wilsons ,Hannas Butlers ,,,,you can,t make children willy nilly w/ a 75 % illegitimacy rate and not have growing crime and poverty , sitting around talking about imaginary unfeasible businesses is fantasy not reality,,,,thats reality ...
banker 10 years, 9 months ago
@John You make a few good points, except that the economy of the Bahamas doesn't support Bahamian ownership. Here is why. Take a look at this web site. It is the central bank website: http://www.centralbankbahamas.com/sta...">http://www.centralbankbahamas.com/sta... On this page, you will find the money supply of the Bahamas. It is about 6 billion and change. The GDP or Gross Domestic Product (the value of all the business, hirings, wages, sales, exports, and everything - essentially the entire economy) is slightly over 6 billion -- perhaps 7 billion. We have a multiplier of 1.
In the US, the money supply is 3.2 trillion and the GDP is 15 trillion dollars. They have a multiplier of 5. They have a much higher velocity of money which generates the new money that you allude to.
The net effect is that the Bahamas couldn't muster a billion Bahamian dollars for a single project. That would be one sixth of all of the money available. Three mega-projects would consume half of all of the money in the Bahamas, and the economy would grind to a halt.
The money generated in the Bahamas doesn't stick. That is because Bahamians lack the access to capital. The other stickler, is that the Bahamian dollar is not convertible -- you can't spend it anywhere else but in the Bahamas.
Hence we are hamstrung. The only way toward Bahamian ownership of the economy, is to dollarize the economy. Ditch the Bahamian dollar and make the American dollar official tender. That way we can borrow American dollars without an exchange load, to create the business activity that generates wealth. Without a freely convertible currency, Bahamians will always be crumb-catcher off the table of the people with access to hard currency capital.
JohnDoe 10 years, 9 months ago
@Banker, your posts are often informative and accurate, however, in this post, I believe, you may have inadvertently distorted the money supply comparison between the Bahamas and the USA. The Central Bank reports the M3 money supply, which is the broadest measure while the USA number used was the M1 which is the most narrow measure used. Comparing those two there would be a great disparity. Having said that your other observations do have some validity. The major problem with the Bahamian economy is that it's openness has essentially created two separate economies, one foreign oriented that is chiefly funded with foreign capital and depends on foreign demand and the other domestic oriented where locals should be the major players. The problem is that economic activity is primarily driven and dominated by two principally foreign owned sectors, tourism and financial services, and that there are little to no inter-industry linkages to the domestic economy. Therefore even when the foreign sectors are doing well it does not provide more economic benefits for the domestic sector. When you add our local poor savings rate, our propensity to shop abroad, the absence of a capital market, the lack of government incentives for local ownership and the propensity of our politicians to use government finances as their election slush funds you have the mess we are in today with our debt.
banker 10 years, 9 months ago
I stand corrected on the nuances between M1 and M3.
concernedcitizen 10 years, 9 months ago
@banker you have not mentioned we have become addicted to consuming , phones ,cars etc etc ,,my dad saved and scrimped and built credit to access for real estate etc ,,by the time our generation is 30 we are maxed out w/ consumer debt ,,my father never bougth a new car until he was in his fiftys and bought it cash ,,when his good credit would have given him a new car by the time he was 25 ,,but he just used the bank for investment not flash ,,sh##t we even borrow for vacations
nationbuilder 10 years, 9 months ago
frightening
concerned799 10 years, 9 months ago
John - great if we could produce more. But can we seriously outcompete Asia to make cars or iphones? What we can do is staff our own tourism industry, rather than let in cruise ships who use all foreign staff and drive down our hotels pricing power. This will go a huge way to correcting unemployment and provide private sector jobs (so address the other point made above)
banker 10 years, 9 months ago
Knowledge industries earn just as much or even more money than manufacturing. Jamaica has a burgeoning high tech industry (software and services) that contributes to a growing portion of the economy. They financed this with a 3 cent levy on incoming cellular phone calls.
JohnDoes 10 years, 9 months ago
Perhaps later on in the years, the Bahamas will consider being consumed by America and become an 'Unincorporated Territory' like Puerto Rico & the Virgin Islands. There is no excuse as to why we should not. We are not even technically regarded as being located in the Caribbean. I think it would be better than being independent because our independence shows that we are very dependent and our people, the citizens are suffering, while our lands and jobs are being bought out by foreigners because too much of our Bahamian dollars are spent paying back loans rather than investing in the well being of the people. Something to think about. Of course this will cause a governmental/parliamentary reform along with her majesty being removed as head of the state while we welcome Uncle Sam and strengthen the western hemisphere. Only then can I see the Bahamas actually moving forward, it has been 40 years too long dealing with the same aristocrats and this kleptocratic system.
concernedcitizen 10 years, 9 months ago
Its not totally lack of funding ,we spent a 1/4 of our budget ,about 250,0000 a tear on education ,,and in a waterd down system where 65% score now gets you a C we have a D average and 1/2 of the students getting only a certificate of completion ,,Bulla you better hope those foriegners keep investing b/c for a 1/4 billion a year we are producing a large number of graduates that are functionally illiterate
JohnDoe 10 years, 9 months ago
Very funny, even interesting but absolutely unrealistic. We got ourselves into this mess therefore we must find the fortitude and leadership to get us out. We know the problems and the solutions, we just don't have the political will nor are we ready to make the sacrifices to implement.
concernedcitizen 10 years, 9 months ago
1/4 billion a year on education and 50% of the students are illiterate ,,,,,,keep making children like topsy w/ dead beat dads and when the public purse can not afford to hire them anymore ,,vola more crime ,more poverty ..its no mystery
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